Sparrow Solitaire (Playdate) by Vogelscript, gingerbeardman

Sparrow Solitaire takes the classic tile-matching puzzle game mahjong solitaire, and reimagines it from the ground-up for Playdate. With simple rules and plenty of customizable options, the game is accessible to both new players and veterans of the genre.
Watch our launch trailer!
Purchase here on Itch or **Panic’s **Catalog, or try our free demo available at the bottom of this page. Play stats from the demo carry over to the full game!

The goal of the game is to clear the layout by matching pairs of free tiles together. Free tiles are those which don’t have any tile on top of them and whose left and right sides are unblocked. In a traditional 144 tile layout, there are 42 different tile faces: 34 normal tiles with four copies each, 4 unique “season” tiles that match with each other (black dots in corner), and 4 unique “flower” tiles that match with each other (white dots in corner).
Need more help? The game includes a full tutorial and in-game manual. Want even more tips? Check out the Playdate Wiki page.

We wanted to create a definitive version of mahjong solitaire, exceeding the best computer and console ports. It has all gameplay functionality you would expect, such as undo, redo, and hint functions, and way more. S****hake the Playdate to reshuffle the tiles if you’re stuck (only once per game!). Play layouts using the Shisen-Sho ruleset or compete head-to-head against a friend in 2-player challenge. Don’t know which layout to play? Attempt the Daily Layout and share your scores via QR code.

Our tilesets were drawn from scratch with the Playdate’s screen in mind and they look beautiful on the device. In addition, the crank has several customizable functions: it can snap the cursor to the nearest free tile, zoom the screen, or undo and redo moves. Although mahjong games often rely on mouse or touch input, we spent a lot of time on our D-pad controls so that the cursor snapping feels intuitive, fast, and smooth.

The game includes 13** tilesets, 25 backgrounds, 208 layouts, 10 music tracks, and several gameplay and accessibility options** to customize your experience. We also included **an advanced built-in editor for creating and sharing layouts with the community, **and have dynamic asset loading capability so you can load in your own backgrounds or tileset designs!

Check out the pause screen to track your best times, scores, and win rate per-layout or across all layouts. View a detailed overview of your stats by pressing B on a layout in the layout select.

Immense care has gone into everything from cursor movement to on-device performance and loading times. We have thoughtful animations and transitions for nearly everything, and the game has been thoroughly playtested. We also ensure every** tile deal in Classic mode is solvable.**

“This is literally the best feeling game on the Playdate.” — strangest.io
“This is wonderful! Majong would seem impossible to pull off on such a limited screen, but this really takes advantage of that screen’s strengths and pulls it off with aplomb.” — joecunningham
“I have just booted up the game and played a little bit… but WOW the detail and the setting and MUSIC. Once I fully dive into this game more, I can see myself spending hours. I really love the little details.” — KingSizzle#1708
“Beautiful and challenging. Great time!” — ledbetter-games
“I’ve never really been into Mahjong, but I find this to be the perfect experience for the Playdate. Will prob be a forever install on my device.” — SHiLLySiT#0985
“Love this game. Easily one of the most beautiful games on the playdate” — kilijarslan
“First experience with solo mahjong. Great fun, beautiful graphics & animation!” — 96m96m
“Great Job. I really appreciate your attention to detail. Using the crank to switch between available tiles is surprisingly useful. I like how it gives some minor assistance whenever you want it without having to switch on the option for available tiles only. This has been a daily go-to for me. Keep up the good work!” — russcampbell

Note: a complete list of credits is viewable in-game by pressing: menu, layout select, menu, credits.
Mac Vogelsang (@vogelscript): Dev Lead
Matt Sephton (@gingerbeardman): Art Lead
**YuyakeMonster **夕焼けモンスター (@yuyake_monster): Music Soundcloud / Sparrow Solitaire Soundtrack
Andrew Gant (@GantProdux / TinyYellowMachine): Launch trailer and flock of birds animation
Vxcl (@Vxcl / @vxclhd): “Great Wave of Mahjong” promo render